Finishing temp?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

diptherunner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
125
Reaction score
13
Hello all. I just transferred a Irish red with an abv of 6.8% to secondary. It is near fg now, but I wondered if raising the temp would be a good way to clean up the final flavors. I used 2 packets of well activated safale-05. It fermented at 68 for 2 weeks.
 
68 is as warm as I'd want it. Personally I ferment my irish reds at about 64 and if at the end the FG is just not low enough I may rouse the yeast and raise it up to 68, but if you were already sitting at 68, I wouldn't go any higher. Depending on the yeast you used, higher temps generally create more esters, so raising it up won't really clear those flavors up.
 
Unfortunately, it was as low as September would let me go. What types of flavors would the esters produce?
 
Unfortunately, it was as low as September would let me go. What types of flavors would the esters produce?

It will vary from fruity flavors like cherry, apple, etc to fusel achohol. Using a swamp cooler to keep the temp down would really help and is pretty easy. It's simply a big tub filled with water and a towel draped over the carboy ito the water. The towel will absorb the water and evaporate into the air thereby cooling the fermentor. It can reduce temps 5 or so degrees.
 
If you are, literally, "a few points" (like, as in 2) from final gravity, I really doubt that you're going to get noticeable off-flavors by bringing your secondary up to room temp. The first 72 hours are crucial for temperature control. That's when the yeast replicate and consume the bulk of the sugar. I keep my beers immersed in a plastic tub for 7-10 days (adding frozen bottles, as necessary, to keep the temp where I want it). After that, I let the carboy come up to temp, assuming it's more or less reached predicted FG and I'm getting steady gravity readings. If I were doing a heavier beer, like the one you describe, I would probably go longer, but you're at 2 weeks, so you've already done that. Now, if you're actually more like 8 points from predicted final gravity, then you probably want to maintain fermentation temp until you get stabilized closer to your predicted FG.

Bear this in mind: Many people bottle condition at or near room temp. That involves fermenting "a few" gravity points. I haven't heard many complaints about off flavors from that process. Certainly, I've never had a problem with it.

One last thought. I actually make a practice of letting beer sit at room temp for a few days before bottling. I've had batches drop a few points after coming out of the cooler (despite having maintained a steady gravity for days beforehand). Since I condition at room temp, I don't want that beer going into bottles. At best, it will be over-carbed. At worst, someone could get hit with flying glass when the bottles explode.

'Just my two cents. Good luck!
 
Thanks everyone! I will definitely look into the swamp cooler in the warmer months. I am hoping to take advantage of northeast winters for lower temp fermenting. Thanks for all help!
 
Back
Top